Hi Guys. A brand new 4x4 atv purchase is expensive and after 2 months of nightly research I am pretty stumped. Maybe some1 can chime in an opinion to help sway me.
I Have had several Hondas dating back to the atc's of the 80's and love the reliability and basic maintenance.
I have owned now a 1999 Honda Fourtrax 4x4 300 for past 5 years and have had 0 issues with it plowing, hauling and trail riding.
I want to purchase a new 4x4 to trail ride, plow, and yard work. However I also want to have some fun with some speed and power, something my 300 fourtrax lacks. Every forum I find knocks the Rincon for not having a front locker. My fourtrax does not have a front locker and it goes through everything and can plow over a foot of wet snow with no issues. Today we had 4 inches of snow and I was doing donuts in street watching all 4 tires spin on my fourtrax. I guess I am confused as to this whole front locker thing as I want power, speed, reliability, plowing, and yard capabilities, and the honda reliability in 1 package. I feel the Rincon would be the best but again does not have the locker. I really like the sportsman xp but am turned off by all the technology behind that machine as I want to be riding and not wrenching or toting it to dealer. The grizzly looked kinda like the perfect setup as it seems to incorporate old school proven components, much like honda used too , in a nice package. I'm stumped. I dont want to have to buy a 2nd quad for just speed and adrenaline rush when the can am and polaris brand has it all in 1 4x4 package it seems, but with names I do not trust. Is the Rincon the way to go? Any1 please? Thank You.

 

diff lock has saved me quite a few times, for general trail riding or everyday work you wouldn't really ever use it but it's a life saver in rough terrain and pretty much a must have for rocky areas

here's a video that explains it pretty well


as for the brand i love Honda i really do but they seriously need to catch up with features such as the diff lock and IRS and they do offer both of those features now but on separate modals. the diff lock specifically is only on the 2014 Foreman 500 which also still uses to old straight axle making it a horrible choice for mud

i ended up getting a Suzuki myself, there were a few promotions at the time that made the price about $2000 cheaper and it has all the features i'd want including power steering while still being a very reliable brand

 

The Rincon has no low range that's why it has only a 850lbs towing capacity. Also a it has a OHV motor that only puts out 39hp witch is very low for a 680cc the new 550 push that.

Here is a good ATV video of difflock making the difference . His first two attempts is in regular limited slip 3wd.
My 350 Grizzly has no difflock and get stuck in places my AWD Sportsman would breeze through and the 350 has better mud tires.


Hondas only difflock ATV is the 2014 500 Foreman but at 28hp its sure is the lowest powered 500cc 4x4 out there, Most are 35hp-40hp.
The old tech OHV motor just keeps Honda down when everyone uses OHCs.

 

The old 300 was one of Honda’s best models, the Rincon is about their worst. They won’t stand heavy work which is why Honda sell them as a “Leisure quad” and they grind gears when going from neutral. Both of Honda’s manual 4WD models are new out, as is the 420AT, so nobody can tell if they are any good yet. The Rubicon is an excellent quad but there is always the fear of the cost if that complex transmission goes wrong. Although diff lock is best, the other 4WD Hondas are almost as good because they have a limited slip front diff which is why your 300 can spin all four wheels in snow.

 

i read somewhere the transmission actually can't be repaired and the entire thing must be replaced and it's apparently very expensive

 

New here but figured I might be able to help a little. I was raised with honda's from the TRX 70 to the 125 then 300 finally 420. They were extremely reliable machines of course is because both they made a good product for a long period of time and that their engines produce low Horsepower numbers. Recently my brother and I started looking for bigger tougher machines, we had a friend that has a grizzly 660 that it seems he is always working on before every ride. My brother bought a Brute Force a few years ago, the first day out he shattered the front diff, the next ride a tie rod broke, then a-arms cracked, needless to say the bike has been in the shop a lot. A lot of our friends ride can am, so we tried that next. I have ZERO complaints about the outlanders. Lots of power good builds they can work and play equally hard. I bought a commander in 2011 (a side by side) I broke a rear diff pulling a jeep out of a mud hole (cracked the housing from the torque -- $600 for a new one) but I should have winched him out not jerked. My brother got an outlander first, he found a used 2008 outlander 800 this thing is a beast. It will pull the front tires off the ground in high or low without any rider assist and really rips through the mud. I just purchased a 2014 outlander max 1000, I am extremely pleased with it so far lots of power and pulling ability plus it doesn't have any trouble with several bags of feed on the racks. The outlander max has the 2 up riding and is probably the most comfortable second seat of any fourwheeler. My wife actually says she perfers to ride in back now VS driving anything. So now for the complaints that most people have about can am's 4x4's VISCO LOCK. Now honestly unless your into rock crawling or heavy mud you probably will never notice the issue. They way visco is designed the front right tire will have to spin a few times before it will lock and force the left one to spin (this is a bigger complaint on the SxS's as the polaris RZRs lock very quickly). However, there is a company that is in the process of developing a electric diff lock for can ams so it won't be an issue long.

As for my suggestion, a outlander 650 seems like it would probably be perfect for what you are looking for. With 60-65 HP it will have plenty of power, the Gen2 frames handle and ride amazingly. (Don't get a early Gen2 frame as they were working out the kinks but it's good now although I believe they have fixes for the early models of it.) The 2013-2014 650s have more power than the 2012 and earlier, if you somehow blow it up the 650 is easily changed to a 800 with just a rebuild kit or 940cc engine for a fair price.

Even if you just want the 500 it has 46HP and can am's engines are all basically the same as the 500 can be upgraded to the 650-800 or 940 as well. The 400 cannot as it uses a different block.

 

The Can-Am 650 is, by far, my favorite engine. As 08 Rancher said, the 800 will pull the front tires off the ground easily. You have to be a little careful going into corners to not blip the throttle to fast. If you do you're steering can become non-existent. The 650 will keep up with any machine out there except for the top end of the Can-Am 800 and 1000, the Polaris 850 and 1000, and the Arctic Cat 1000. The newer Visco-Lok QE (Quick Engagement) is just about instantaneous, much like the Polaris system. It engages very quickly without the pulsing, and jerking of the earlier systems. As 08 said, the passenger seat is one of the most comfortable for your occasional passenger.

I've found the difference between a limited slip front end and a fully locked front end to be enough that I never want a limited for riding here in New England. I've seen guys on Suzukis, and Yamahas try to climb up rock faces that I had no trouble with and fail only because they forgot to take that extra step of stopping, moving a lever, and pushing the full lock button. Once they did this they were able to crawl up as easily as my Polaris did, and my Can-Am does. Honda, until this year, was the only maker that didn't have a way to lock in the front. I've also seen the difference in mudholes that I was barely able to get through, a guy with a limited slip couldn't quite make it.

 

I would say you need to gear this towards your habits. Are you more likely to play on this atv, or are you looking to work it more? May be hard to get the best of both worlds because where you need speed and agility in one aspect, you want true 4x4 and weight to plow with. Now, I'm a Honda fan with their reliability, but their brakes and differentials have always lacked. I've owned 250 quadrunners with differential lock and those are great, but heavy and slow. Arctic Cat 500/650 have diff lock, but they are heavy as well, but also fast(er). I've always been intrigued by Yamaha 350 Wolverines being 4x4 and agile, but I don't know how reliable they are. 400 Honda foremans are work horses, but slow and you can't really play on them unless you get the Warn 424 disconnect. Can Am Renegades 800 are 4x4 and are incredibly fast, so that would be something to look into, but I don't know if they have true 4x4.

All of this would also depend on budget - maybe worth keeping a 400 foreman and buying a Honda 450R for 2k to play on that wouldn't compromise your work atv. Just my 2 cents.

 

The renegades have the same visco lock as the outlander but it is a sport model 4x4 not utility/work. It seems with what you said you want to do with it the utility atvs are what your looking for (trail, plow, and yard work).

 

Is the same 348cc Yamaha motor that's been around in motor bikes and all models of ATVs since the 80s up to this day. They are bullet proof . Sold a 1989 350 Big Bear with that motor that is still going strong.
The 350 Wolverine 4x4 5 speed was last made in 2005 and was the lightest 4x4 ATV ever made,it was even lighter then the 4x4 250 timberwolf.

The later 350 wolverines were only 2wd and CVT belt autos and were discontinued in 2009. 2005 Yamaha Wolverine 4X4 ATVs

The 348 is in the Warriors ,Big Bears,Briuns,Grizzly,Raptor and DR motorbikes. If its a Yamaha and a 350 four stroke that's the only motor they ever made in over 30 years. I,m sure the bugs have been worked out long ago.

This site only goes down to 1999 but the 348 has been around for years longer. http://www.atvreviewnetwork.com/enth...2=386396&go=Go